A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a holders used to store beverage containers and other objects while a passenger is traveling on an airplane. In particular, this invention relates to a holder apparatus used to store beverage containers and other objects that are suitable for use in places where there is not much room for such holders. Even more particularity, the present invention relates to such holders that are useful for mounting to preexisting airplane cabin window frame assemblies and an installation method for same.
B. Background
A conventional passenger airplane cabin has many rows of seat assemblies where a typical airplane seat assembly includes an airplane seat and a tray table. It has been the conventional practice on passenger airplanes to provide a seat tray table which may be supported from a structure so that beverage containers or other objects can be supported and positioned for manual retrieval and immediate use.
In connection with most airplane seats, there are two widely used types of airplane seat tray tables, one being attached to a passenger seat back and one which pivots out from a vertical storage compartment typically located beneath a passenger seat arm rest.
The first type of passenger tray table is provided on the back side of the seat back which is directly in front of a passenger. The tray table is moved between its stowed position and its use position by the passenger sitting in the seat behind the airplane seat assembly. When the tray table is in its use position, its upper surface is generally horizontal and is spaced rearward of the back portion of the airplane seat where it is stored. When the tray table is in its stowed position, its upper surface is adjacent to and facing the back portion of the airplane seat where it is stored.
The second type of passenger tray table is provided in a compartment beneath a passenger seat arm rest and is moved between a stowed position to a use position by a person sitting in the same airplane seat assembly where the arm rest compartment and tray table are located.
When either of the aforementioned tray tables is in a use position the upper surface is generally horizontal, is positioned over the passengers lap, and only provides a flat surface. Such flat surfaces allow objects to slide across or fall off the tray table. Some tray tables provide a shallow circular indentation positioned on one corner of the top surface to prevent a beverage container from sliding across the tray table. This circular indentation does not prevent the beverage container from tipping over, in the event an airplane should encounter turbulence or any sort of uneven flight, thus spilling the container contents onto the tray table, onto a passenger, or onto the floor. Overall, both the aforementioned seat tray table types are of limited size and therefore provide insufficient surface area to simultaneously support a food tray or work materials in addition to one or more beverage containers or other objects.
A disadvantage associated with these types of conventional tray tables is they are the only viable place for a passenger to place one or more beverage containers or other objects. Another disadvantage is associated with the difficulties and problems encountered when employing tray tables on the back of airplane seats. These difficulties generally occur when the tray table has been deployed into a use position and the person sitting in the tray table mounted seat activates the seat back into a different position. Such activation causes the seat back to move either forward or rearward so that any food or drink on the tray table may spill and other objects are prone to fall off. In instances where a hot beverage is involved, serious injury may occur to the person sitting behind the moved seat back.
Also, other instances occur when a seated passenger must move the tray table to the stowed position on the seat back which necessitates one or more beverage containers or other objects to be disposed of or be held in one or both hands. Such a procedure is dangerous in the event an airplane should encounter turbulence or any sort of uneven flight. To complicate matters more, a passenger will sometimes be offered a beverage container, such as a cup, in addition to another beverage container such as a canned drink, thus requiring space for two beverage container items. As such, it is not uncommon for a passenger to be left holding one or more beverage containers in one or both hands when tray tables are required to be placed in a stowed position prior to take off and landings.
Also, passengers frequently use their tray table as a work area for supporting reading or writing materials, hand-held devices, or personal computers. Because of the limited area of the tray table, a passenger generally cannot support one or more beverage containers or other objects while using the tray table as a work area. As a result, the passenger must generally remove his or her work materials from the tray table if he or she desires a beverage or risk having the beverage spill on the materials.
Moreover, many passengers find their passenger compartments to be somewhat confining when a tray table is in its use position, because the tray table limits the degree to which one can shift or move within the compartment. For example, it is difficult for passengers to cross their legs when their tray table is in the use position. Thus, if the passenger desires to maximize the space of the passenger compartment, he or she must generally hold one or more beverage containers or other objects in one or both hands and keep the tray table in its stowed position.
Also, should a passenger desire to leave their seat during flight, the passenger must first place the tray table back to the stowed position and dispose of all beverage containers or take the beverage containers with them as they ingress and egress through the seat aisle. As such, this poses a risk of spilling the beverage on other passengers.
Overall, prior art for airplane cabin beverage container holders and other object holders fail to address the traveler's specific need to safely and securely hold beverage containers or other objects and simultaneously provide sufficient workspace during transit. In view of the foregoing, a long-standing need has existed to provide a holder apparatus for beverage containers and other objects that may be supported in a different location other than relying on a conventional airplane seat tray table.
What is needed in the art of airplane cabin beverage and object holding devices is a simplified apparatus to safely and securely hold one or more beverage containers or other objects in such a way to prevent items from falling onto the floor or from spilling liquid, to free up tray table space to allow room for a work space, to free up one or both hands of a passenger for other use, to maximize the space of the passenger compartment, and to allow a passenger to conveniently leave their seat without being required to dispose of or hold their beverages or other objects in one or both hands.